History & local legend
Benjamin Franklin’s statue stands in a niche above the entrance to the American Philosophical Society’s Library Hall on Fifth Street. The building recreates the façade of the Library Company’s earlier home on this site. Franklin and his friends founded the Library Company in 1731, pooling their resources so members could borrow books they could not easily afford individually.
Philadelphia folklore gives Franklin more freedom of movement than his statue suggests. In one story, he steps down from the niche and dances through the streets at night. In another, a library employee is knocked aside by a figure resembling Franklin as he hurries toward the bookshelves.
Sources
- Visit Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin’s dancing statue at the APS library
- Philly Ghosts, legend of the employee and the figure at the shelves
- National Park Service, Library of the American Philosophical Society
- Independence Hall Association, Library Hall and its origins
- Philadelphia Public Art, Library Hall statue location
